Is Cristiano Ronaldo Less Vital to Real Madrid's Best Attack Than Bale, Benzema?

There are few players in world football who divide opinion as much as Cristiano Ronaldo; not in terms of his ability, which is and will remain utterly unquestioned, but in terms of his role as an individual in a team, a scorer of huge tallies of goals and, for some, whether or not he is the greatest player of the modern age.

Now, at Real Madrid, he continues to be an undisputed first-choice forward for manager Zinedine Zidane and is a record-breaker at club and country level, scoring over 40 goals again this term in all competitions.

There's no doubting his level of importance for the club and how much he brings to intangible, off-field factors surrounding Real Madrid such as popularity, merchandising and reputation, but in terms of his on-pitch impact, can it be argued that he is of less importance than team-mates Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale?

'Best' vs. Importance

Let's be clear from the outset: This isn't an argument to suggest Bale and Benzema are better than Ronaldo. There are those out there who believe that to be the case, but it's subjective, inevitably based on form over short periods and, quite frankly, irrelevant. A great player can win a game, but as Real themselves have shown this season, only great teams with a cohesive manner of playing can win titles...or not win them if they don't, as is the case this season.

Ronaldo's goal tally will continue to outstrip Bale and Benzema, and it isn't just for his penalty-taking. The Portuguese forward has his own brand of attacking, and his impact is based around end product.

Naturally it has a say on the perception of any player and is what many people—coaches, team-mates, fans—believe makes Ronaldo the best, but that's not what we're looking at here.

Instead, we're considering the value brought to the team overall, in conjunction with other team-mates and enabling the side to take results as a consequence.

What Ronaldo brings

It's obvious what Ronaldo's main game is based on: relentlessly getting shots away and using his acceleration and power to utilise space, particularly ahead of play.

He's an individualistic talent at times; sure, he combines with fellow attackers and is hugely intelligent with his movement off the ball, but it is single-minded in its purpose: to get into the box, to get on the ball, to get shots away as fast as possible.

He is also highly consistent in his ability to ensure this side of his game remains effective. A season-on-season stats comparison, per Squawka, shows his shots per 90 minutes have barely altered over the last four campaigns: between 6.3 and 7.8.

GERARD JULIEN/Getty Images

For comparison, no other player in La Liga has managed six shots per game in either of the last two seasons.

In terms of looking at how important he is, consider what Real might lose if Ronaldo was not in the team for an extended period. Quite aside from losing the shots on goal that he guarantees each match, the No. 7 also has an aura about him that naturally attracts defensive concentration and at times gives Real an unstoppable threat on the counter.

There's little doubt that if Ronaldo doesn't play, even with other stars on show, Real are less of a perceived threat to opponents, simply because their most regular scorer isn't on the pitch.

What Benzema brings

First and foremost, while Real have good depth in other areas of the squad, centre-forward is no longer a role for which they have senior options beyond the starter, Karim Benzema.

While previously he fought for a spot against Gonzalo Higuain and Real also had Alvaro Morata battling for game time, recent weeks have seen 18-year-old Borja Mayoral called upon to make his first starts for the first team. That presence as a senior, experienced centre-forward makes him of great importance to the side even without taking into account the fact that he's one of the more clinical, reliable forwards in Europe.

Benzema is a reference point for the Real attack, not only receiving the ball quickly on the counter-attack but also hugely competent at linking with the wide forwards, the few midfielders who do surge through the centre and the overlapping full-backs.

Add in a strong goal return and extremely intelligent movement, and he's an ideal lone central striker.

Benzema's 24 goals for the season so far isn't the highest tally around, but he does have the most impressive minutes-per-goal rate of La Liga's top attackers.

JORGE GUERRERO/Getty Images

He nets on average every 80 minutes this season, ahead of Ronaldo (83), Lionel Messi (87) and Luis Suarez (91), and only injuries have really prevented him from adding to that tally.

At their best, Real Madrid's attacking play is a transitional and fluid system of four players, rotating positions and using the space that opens up to play into and cause trouble for defenders trying to track the off-ball movement.

There is nobody in the Santiago Bernabeu side better at that than Benzema, and there's absolutely no question that Real are a far better overall team when he is on the pitch.

What Bale brings

Bale has at times been described as being a reasonably close mirror image of Ronaldo, replicating what the Portuguese attacker does, but cutting in from the right instead of the left. He shoots often, he's fast, has great power and is a source of goals—but not as often as Ronaldo. So how is he justifiably more important than him?

For Bale, it's about opportunism and tactical improvement.

With regard to the former, Bale is far quicker at releasing the ball than Ronaldo, partly due to his lower standing in the team hierarchy than his team-mate but also partly because that's how he developed as a footballer at a young age. Bale was a winger and offensive left-back, used to utilising his pace but then delivering crosses or linking play before approaching the penalty box.

Now more of a threat on goal himself than ever before, it would be well within his capacity to simply surge diagonally and shoot four, five, six times a game—but Bale is very quick to look up and attempt an early ball into the area instead, setting up Ronaldo and Benzema on many occasions.

The Frenchman's strike at the weekend was a prime example: A right-footed cross from Bale, not stopping to change feet or go for goal himself, led to a wonderful finish from the Real No. 9.

"

Goal benzema https://t.co/ng26WBDd8T

— Peña RM de Indo PSR (@Madrid_Pasuruan) March 20, 2016"

It's no coincidence that Benzema and Ronaldo score so many goals when Bale is in good form—he has the best chance-creation rate out of the three, managing an average of 2.8 per 90 minutes this term per Whoscored.com.

In fact, only Neymar, Malaga's Duda and Real Madrid team-mate James Rodriguez can better Bale's chance creation this season, and only one of those, Neymar, is a regular performer managing more time on the field than Bale himself.

Tactically, Bale offers a huge bonus for Real, as he has the best work rate and selflessness of the three.

The last game showcased his importance in that way: Bale dropped off from the front three to create an identifiable four in midfield, leaving Benzema and Ronaldo up top. It gives Madrid more solidity and a better range of outlets once possession is won back, and while Lucas Vazquez can do the same role on the right side when required, Bale does it on both flanks and has a superior technical ability.

Fitness issues are an obvious concern, but Bale's participation in a Real Madrid shirt is woefully underestimated and played down at times. He's absolutely critical to them being a better team going forward.

Summer

Assuming the impending-but-appealed transfer ban doesn't stop Real from making moves in the market this summer, we could get a glimpse at who really does have the greatest importance.

Rumours will circulate between now and July or August as to where Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema will all be playing next season, and there's no guarantee that all three will still be wearing white come the start of 2016-17, particularly with Florentino Perez's penchant for sudden and unnecessary change.

All three are complete stars in their own right, capable of playing for top-tier teams and changing a game in a heartbeat.

But in this Real Madrid team, with the current setup of management, midfield and club mentality, Ronaldo will simply keep doing what he does regardless of who is in the side with him.

The other two make Real Madrid better overall as a team, and while they may not match Ronaldo's continued output, there's every case to regard them as more vital to success over the course of an entire season.

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